How to Reduce Lag in a Multiplayer Game

If you are experiencing latency (commonly known as lag) while playing Call of Duty online, your first step should be to check the server status for your platform and for the Call of Duty game you are playing.

If the Server Status for the Call of Duty game you’re playing is not at DEFCON 5 indicating that all online services are fully operational, you may encounter lag or connectivity issues until the status has returned to DEFCON 5.

If the Server Status for the game is at DEFCON 5, there are a number of steps that you can take to improve the quality of your connection.

Run through the basics

Here are a few things to note before delving any deeper:

Network bandwidth – Avoid other bandwidth-heavy applications on your network while playing online, including but not limited to streaming music or video content, or downloading files.

Wired connections – You will achieve optimal performance when playing an online game over a wired Ethernet connection. Wi-Fi connections have a wide variance in reliability and bandwidth, and can dramatically affect the quality of online gameplay. Wired connections will maintain the minimum bandwidth connection that is required for online gaming.

Input/Display lag – Most modern TVs come equipped with features that can cause input or display lag. At minimum, high refresh rates or settings of 120Hz or 240Hz should be avoided when playing online. The optimal settings should be standard refresh rates at 60Hz. Input lag can also refer to a delay in seeing the game respond to buttons pressed or movements made using a wireless controller.

Turn on Game Mode – Available on most modern TVs, Game Mode is designed to turn off features like motion smoothing that can contribute to lag.

Turn off all reductions – There may be several names for the reduction settings available on your TV, and all of them should be turned off as they all contribute to input lag

Motion smoothing – Game Mode will often turn motion smoothing off automatically, but you should verify that this setting is turned off.

The following tests require you to log in to the router on your home network to troubleshoot your network. You will need your router’s login credentials to proceed. If you do not have your router’s login credentials, you will need to contact your Internet Service Provider.

These tests refer to options that are typically found in a router’s menu. If you cannot find what you’re looking for, please refer to your router’s manual.

You may not need to perform all of these tests, so be sure to test the game after attempting each one.

If you are on an institutional (school), corporate, or other shared network, please refer to your network administrator for further assistance.

Test 1: Universal Plug and Play

Turn Port Forwarding off (if it is turned on) and enable Universal Plug and Play (UPnP).

Check your new settings in game. If this doesn’t resolve your issue, proceed to the next step.